Mags GarganA Most Wanted Man
(15A)
There's an argument to be made for the fact that the recent deaths of Robin Williams and Philip Seymour Hoffman could be attributed to one root cause: burn-out. The fact that both of them had conquered their addictions to drink and/or drugs for many years before these got a grip on them again shortly before their deaths was another grim comparison.
Seeing Hoffman posthumously in this mesmerising John Le CarrÈ adaptation provides proof once again, if proof were needed, what a huge loss his death was to films. Playing crumpled German security agent Gunther Bachmann, his little touches, such as holding his cigarettes away from the stem, capture his character perfectly. The German accent is also spot on.
The convoluted story begins with the arrival of Issa Karpov (Grigoriy Dobrygin), a tortured Chechen Muslim, in Berlin. His corrupt father has died, leaving him a sizeable inheritance. He says he wants to donate it to a number of charities patronised by Abdullah (Homayoun Ershadi).
But at least one of these charities is a front for a terrorist organisation. Does Karpov know this and can Bachmann catch Abdullah giving the money to it?
Mix
Into the mix comes earnest lawyer Annabel Richter (Rachel McAdams). She believes Karpov is on the level. She tries to shield him from Bachmann. Bachmann in turn is trying to handle matters without the interference of American security forces. (These are much more gung-ho in their post-9/11 ëtake no prisonersí stance.)
It's typical Le Carre territory. Hoffman often reminds one of the equally dishevelled Richard Burton in Le Carre's seminal work, The Spy Who Came in From the Cold.
Itís directed with cutting edge tension by Anton Corbjin. If it was a Hollywood film one imagines the body count would reach double figures, maybe even before the credits came up. But not one person is killed in this film and so the tension increases, focusing attention on the performances which are all top-notch (including that of McAdams, who many people feel canít ìdoî serious films because sheís too pretty ñ a very sexist attitude).
Corbjin has morphed what might, in other hands, have been a blood-and-guts action film into a finely-crafted Cold War thriller. Not too much happens in it but that doesnít mean you wonít be glued to the screen for its 120-minute running time as the factions with their varying agendas create sacrificial lambs and collateral damage.
RIP Philip Seymour Hoffman. We wonít see his like again.